


No More

by ambiguous_nights



Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Day 6, Gen, Whumptober 2020, no more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguous_nights/pseuds/ambiguous_nights
Summary: Obi-wan is drunk. Mace is a good friend.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950745
Comments: 6
Kudos: 87
Collections: Mace Windu Fandom Safe Space





	No More

“Obi-wan?” Mace asks. He had been asleep when an incessant buzzing at his door had dragged him out of bed. Of all the things Mace had expected to find at his door, a drunk and miserable Obi-wan was not one of them. His fellow counselor is slumped against the wall with his clothing rumpled and a mostly empty bottle in his hand.

“Mace?” Obi-wan says, then squints at the door number. “Oh. Sorry.”

Obi-wan steps back and glances down the hall towards his room, a dozen doors further down the hallway. His grips on the bottle tightens.

“Obi-wan,” Mace says and places a hand on Obi-wan’s shoulder. “Why don’t you come in?”

Obi-wan shies away from the touch and shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I need to—”

“It can wait,” Mace says gently and leads Obi-wan inside. The man is clearly exhausted and stressed. Whatever needs to be done will have to wait until Obi-wan can string a sentence together. A good night’s sleep will certainly do him so good, though Mace can’t let Obi-wan return to his room alone, not as drunk as he is.

Mace guides Obi-wan to the couch and fetches a glass of water. “Drink this.”

Obi-wan stares at the glass but doesn’t take it. He breath hitches. And then he begins to shake.

“Obi-wan? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t,” Obi-wan says. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Tears begin to slip down his face and Mace freezes. This is not the composed, organized, steady Obi-wan that the galaxy knows, that most of the Jedi know. This is the Obi-wan Mace met only once before when he found Obi-wan in the training salles in the middle of the night after Qui-gon’s death surrounded by destroyed training droids and tears streaming down his face. 

Mace carefully sits down beside Obi-wan, uncertain how he will react, especially since Obi-wan isn’t very tactile, but Obi-wan needs someone to be here for him. Mace reaches out with the Force to help soothe the frayed edges of Obi-wan’s Force presence, but his touch only unleashes the torrent of emotions behind Obi-wan’s shields.

“It’s too much,” Obi-wan says. “No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, it’s not enough. I try and I try and people still die and the troops look at me like I have the solution to all their problems and I can’t do it. I can’t fix this. Please, I need help.” 

Obi-wan’s head falls on Mace’s shoulder as the tears begin to fall in earnest. Mace wraps an arm around him and pulls him closer, trying to provide some semblance of comfort as Obi-wan crumbles before him.

“I know,” Mace says. He’s had many of the same thoughts, but he had always been able to confide in Depa and Yoda. From what he knew of Obi-wan, the man didn’t have anyone to be vulnerable with. Not like this. “But we’ll find a way through this. Somehow.”


End file.
